O & S Restaurant (Kuey Teow Th'ng) @ Paramount Garden

O & S Restaurant @ Paramount Garden continues to be one of our favourite coffee shops for breakfast in the mornings when we happen to be in the area.  

We obviously love the variety of food offered here, after all, the place has spanned four blogposts from me in the past (you can read them here...one, two, three and four).

But I stumbled upon an old blogpost of kyspeaks which recommended an authentic kuey teow th'ng (that comes with pork innards) at this place that brought me here in my last visit (or shall I say last two visits).

In my first visit, I pandai-pandai ordered kuey teow th'ng and got this indeed....aiks, this looks like the usual Penang kuey teow th'ng I've had at other places with shredded chicken, fish balls and slices of fish cake. Where are the innards?  Did I not order this correctly?  Is there another type of Penang kuey teow th'ng I do not know about?

That aside, I did enjoy this bowl of kuey teow th'ng nonetheless.  The soup base was clear and subtlely tasty.  I loved the immensely fresh fried pork lard and garlic bits sprinkled on top.

Since I didn't get the right kuey teow th'ng, I had to come a second time but I still didn't know how to order the kuey teow th'ng I wanted, so I made sure I pointed to the innards and told them I wanted that.  This time I got it right and my bowl of Penang Kuey Teow Th'ng (innards and all) @ RM7.50 arrived with my seal of approval.

This one had the usual shredded chicken, fish balls and fish cake but also the uncommon pork intestines and coagulated blood cubes not often found in kuey teow th'ng in KL with some crispy pork lard.  I love intestines (and these were really tender and soft to the bite) but can't say I share the same enthusiasm for coagulated blood (this one, however, was quite nicely done without any fishy smell unlike some I've eaten before).  I wish there was a fresh chilli dip (like those offered with chee chap tong) to eat the blood cubes with.

The clear soup was good (like before) and the kuey teow was smooth and slippery (like those of a good Ipoh kuey teow).  Those who enjoy a good soupy noodle will approve of this one...with or without the innards (your choice).  Just remember to ask specifically for the innards if you want them...coz I'm still unsure how to order this correctly! >_<

On the way out, I stopped by at my favourite bak chang stall.  Shucks....my favourite Cantonese chung from here has gone up in price.  It's now priced @ RM6.50 in 2019.

My Personal Opinion

I don't think I've come across any kuey teow th'ng in KL that offers pork intestines and coagulated blood as an option.  I've only had it with shredded chicken, fish balls and fish cake so far.  I read that this is an authentic version of Penang kuey teow th'ng though there's also another version that comes with duck meat and duck blood too it seems.

If you like a good kuey teow soup, this is a contender.....innards or not! ^.^

O & S Restaurant
39 Jalan 20/14
Paramount Garden
46300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor

Millenium Eighty-Six @ Paramount Garden

I've been to this coffee shop, Restoran Millenium Eighty-Six @ Paramount Garden, numerous times for our Sunday breakfasts.

We're usually here to patronise just two stalls....one is the stall at the back of the shop that specialises in steam fish, fish head noodles and a variety of "tai chow" (stir-fry) noodles.

I shared the Steamed Garoupa Head Slices ("Sek Pan") and (Fried) Fish Head Meehoon with my mother-in-law.  Both dishes cost RM23 in total which saw an increase from RM21 the last time we were here.  I didn't ask for a breakdown of the prices, so I wouldn't know how much each dish went up by but my guess is RM1 each.

I still enjoy the subtle taste of the clear soup with coarse meehoon ("cho mai fun") and lots of fresh greens...and the slight hint of Chinese rice wine with the delicate steamed fish and silken tofu pieces.

Look-y what I found...an eyeball and a huge one at that! O_o  To some that may be one of the best parts of the fish head....to us it was not.  Even my M-I-L who loves the gelatinous parts of the fish wouldn't want to eat this! >.<

The other stall would be the one run by the adorable old lady selling "lor bak" (five-spice pork roll), "lo mai fan" (steamed glutinous rice) and "wu tao gou" (yam cake).

No increase in her prices...still RM2 for the steamed glutinous rice and RM3 for 2 pcs of yam cake, both still very good, especially her yam cake which is still one of the best (if not the best) around.

Eat it with her kick-ass, darn-good homemade chilli sauce (I have yet to find a better tasting chilli dip than hers).  You know what...I think she should just bottle her chilli sauce and sell them...it's that good! ^o^

Even my husband who likes to eat his lo mai fan with sweet sauce had to "kowtow" (bow down) to her when she insisted it's best eaten with her chilli sauce...well, who are we to argue with an 80+ year old lady, right? ;)

On one of our trips there recently, we didn't get to eat her wu tao gou or lo mai fan as she happily (and proudly) proclaimed that a lady bought her entire tray (she told me that this customer from Cheras doesn't come here very often).  On one hand I was happy for her that she managed to sell out quicky but on the other hand not so happy at being deprived of eating her wu tao gou and lo mai fan that day...haha! :D

Because of that, we had to settle for her Lor Bak @ RM12 which was acceptable.  Her lor bak may not be best around but we feel compelled to order from her just to ensure she has enough business.

This hard-working old lady definitely deserves our "love" for being so independent and running the stall by herself at her age.  And if you see her otak-otak and the yam-wrapped salted egg, make sure you get some coz those are good.

In our last trip here, we discovered a hidden gem in a plate of Nasi Lemak @ RM4 my son had with just fried egg.  A spoonful of the rice (even though it was a bit clumpy and soft) and I was immediately hooked...it was so, so fragrant.  The stall is located just in front of the shop.  This is a new stall and not the same nasi lemak that previously occupied the space.  You can smell the fragrant coconut milk-infused rice by just standing there...no kidding! ^.^

And I just had to ask what's her secret which she was more than willing to share.  It was a bit of a shocker when I found out the secret in her "nasi" that's "so, so lemak".  It's the use of coconut water to cook her rice (instead of water)! :O  And here I thought she just used a lot of santan to make her rice so fragrant.  Sadly, we didn't see her stall on our subsequent visits! :'(  I'm not sure if she's no longer there or she just weren't there when we visited.

But we did find two new stalls here.  The first was the chee cheong fun stall.  Judging from the looks of the reddish "tim cheong" (sweet sauce), this is Ipoh-style Chee Cheong Fun.  Unfortunately, the sauce wasn't good as it was leaning towards sourish (even the lor bak old lady concurred that there's not enough sweetness in the sauce when she saw me having it and graciously offered her tim cheong to me...haha!).

The other new stall is the beef ball noodles (now called Yang Ki).  One look at the stall owner and he obviously looked familiar.  I recognised him immediately from Pandan Indah's beef ball noodles (he is a dead ringer for his older brother who now runs the Pandan Indah branch).  I remembered him having a stall in Restoran Tong Fong in Seapark (called Yang Kee) but he has since shifted here (he told me).

His beef ball noodles are pretty good and, if you like oh-so-tender beef, their "Lobak Ngau Lam" (Braised Sirloin with Radish) is certainly worth a try (available on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays and only limited to 99 bowls or so the signboard said)! ^_~

My Personal Opinion

Our stalls of choice are still the one dealing in steam fish and fish head noodles and the fiesty grand ol' lady's lor bak stall with the best (and our favourite) yam cake.

We also wanted to add on our latest find which is the nasi lemak that's-so-lemak-it's-bonkers at the front of the shop but we couldn't find it on our later visits.  But then the new beef ball noodles stall gives us another good option here.  

Restoran Millenium Eighty-Six
13 Jalan 20/22
Paramount Garden
46300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor

O & S Restaurant (Part 4) @ Paramount Garden

This coffee shop houses so many stalls that I needed four blog posts to finish reviewing all the stalls available (well, almost all the stalls) in O & S Restaurant @ Paramount Garden.

So, this is my fourth...and hopefully....ok, ok definitely my final instalment....on O & S!  You can check out my earlier three instalments here...Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

The Beef Noodles @ RM7 (for small) was filled with chunks of tender beef, beef tendon beef balls and well softened daikon (which I love).  The broth was lacking something for me.  I can see why it's among one of the "quieter" stalls around.

Like many of the stalls here which specialises in Penang-style hawker food, the Penang Char Kway Teow @ RM6 is no different.  The fried kway teow (though I asked to be mixed with mee) usually takes on a lighter shade (less dark soy) to the ones in KL.  This one, with decent "wok hei", was pretty good and I especially enjoyed the fat (Ipoh-like), crunchy bean sprouts.

I read about this kuih stall, Aroma Kueh, in O & S from an issue of (the now defunct) Flavours magazine.  It seems this third-generation family business supplies kuih to various kopitiams in KL and Selangor...and it seems you can find the owner manning her stall at the Imbi morning market.

Each packet of kuih comes pre-packed in 2 pieces and retails for RM2.30 a packet.  The kuih lapis (2 pcs) was soft, with a smooth texture, and slightly sweet but the santan flavour wasn't as pronounced.

The onde-onde (6 pcs), with a delicate and moist skin, was alright but the spurt of oozing liquid gula melaka inside wasn't of divine quality.  As I didn't finish the onde-onde in one sitting, I put them in the fridge but the taste was compromised after being in the fridge! :(

The kuih talam had more of a santan flavour with the fragrant coconut milk and aromatic pandan layers offering a contrast of salty vs sweet nuances.  The green layer didn't seem to show signs of artificial colouring though I would have appreciated a bit more salty flavour in the white layer.

This is the kuih salat (also known as kuih seri muka).  The top half is like a kaya made from pandan juice, eggs and coconut milk. The bottom half is just like the pulut tekan made with glutinous rice and coconut milk (and the blue stain comes from the blue pea flower or bunga telang).  Certainly my favourite of the four I tried...with a not too sweet top layer though the bottom layer could be a tad softer.

Overall, the kuih from Aroma Kueh is decent enough although I still have my favourites from other nyonya kuih stalls (like Lulu & some Malay stalls) and restaurants (notably Nyonya Colors, La Cucur & Annie 1 to name a few).  What I mean is that there's no one stall that churns out all the best kuih, there are bound to be some types that other stalls can do better.

My Personal Opinion

With this fourth instalment, I think I've pretty much covered (or more like eaten) most of the stalls here but maybe not all that they have to offer...fried "ninko", banana fritters and nasi lemak (always sold out by the time I get there) are some that I didn't try.  The others like the kway teow th'ng (flat rice noodles in clear soup), fish head noodles and the new prawn mee stall I did try (some time back) but they didn't leave much of an impression.

You know it's not easy to find good Penang food in KL....but this is surely a good contender.

My final parting words....."apa-apa pun sedap di sini" (anything is delicious here, well almost)...and each and everyone of us will have our own favourites, I'm sure.  My favourites...the glutinous rice dumplings, yong tau foo, chee cheong fun, Penang curry mee, Indian rojak and wantan mee....oh dear, I think I just named one-third of the stalls here already! :D

O & S Restaurant

39 Jalan 20/14

Paramount Garden

46300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor

Char Siew Zhai Wantan Mee @ Paramount Garden

Many have eaten (or at least heard of) the infamous flying wantan mee.....but then the one in Seapark is only available at night + the eating condition (at a roadside stall) isn't all that conducive or convenient for me.  So, to get flying wantan mee in the day (in a proper shop), we had to go to Restoran Char Siew Zhai @ Paramount Garden which has been around for quite a number of years (since 2009, I think).

Probably many wonder if this shop is related or affiliated to the stall in Seapark (that also tosses their wantan mee high up in the air).  I did ask the boss (at the pay counter) and he said they're not affiliated in any way. He further added that the Seapark char siew may taste almost similar to theirs but their wantan mee is not house-made like theirs (meaning the Seapark one buys manufactured wantan mee).  So, for those of you who have eaten both wantan mee, was there a difference in their wantan mee? ;)

The noodles are prepared here by blanching them in hot water, followed by a quick dip in cold water and then tossing them high up in the air before it's plated.  I'm not sure if the tossing of the noodles improved the wantan mee at all...other than just making it really dry before mixing it in the sauce.  To me, the tossing into the air is more gimmicky than anything else.  I'd much rather they don't do that...especially so when I can see the remnants of the noodles sticking to the wall which isn't a pretty or appetising sight >.<

As much as I'd like to, it's quite difficult to catch a pic of the mee flying through the air though.  Nowadays, it's the workers who do the tossing.

The shop offers all sorts of roasted meats (barbecued pork, roast pork, roast duck and roast/poached chicken) with wantan mee or rice as can be seen from the menu.

As the name of the shop implies, one obviously must try the "char siew" (barbequed pork) here.  The plate of Char Siew Rice @ RM6.50 was as basic as it gets...literally just char siew and rice! :D

We didn't request for a specific cut of the char siew when we made our order but got the "pun fei sau" (half lean half fat ratio) which turned out to be meltingly tender.  I liked that the char siew sauce was served separately to cater to the individual's taste buds as to how much sauce he/she wants.

On another occasion, there were at least some slices of cucumber on the plate.  We got a leaner cut of char siew the next time round but it was still as caramelised and good.

Next was the Dry-Style Wantan Mee with Char Siew and Wantan @ RM6.  The texture of the house-made noodles were pretty good in a nice, flavourful and not too oily sauce (suitable for those who likes a less robust sauce).  The char siew on this plate weren't as caramelised on the outside as the ones that came with the rice though.

I didn't care much for the accompanying chilli dips though.  The pickled green chillies (for the wantan mee) was cut a bit too thick + it needed a bit more pickling time while the fresh chilli dip (for the rice) was rather watery.

I went for Wantan Mee Soup @ RM6 as I wanted to see how the soup would stack up.  The noodles were understandably softer to the bite since it's steeped in soup but the broth didn't do anything for me.  Koon Kee's soup version is still the one I prefer.

The char siew is obviously their pride in that it was served separately when you're eating the soup version to ensure it's kept at its optimum taste level.  I got the parts that were the most caramelised with a smoky aroma...and also the most fatty!  Lucky or unlucky?  Personally, I'd prefer a wee bit more lean meat but I have to say that this was the softest char siew I've come across...it literally disintegrated in my mouth....probably because I got a really fatty part (so I had to swap some pieces with my husband)! :P

On another day, I got to try the Poached Chicken Wantan Noodles @ RM6.  The noodles were served separately.  The noodles here are available in small, medium or big...but I can assure you that a small portion here is almost like one and a half wantan mee elsewhere.

The poached chicken was really smooth and tender and the skin wasn't overly fatty.  I usually don't eat the poached chicken skin but this one I was able to eat.

We didn't manage to try the "siu yuk" (roast pork) the first time we were here as it wasn't ready yet....but we were second time lucky and ordered a single portion of Crispy Roast Pork @ RM8.

The roast pork was certainly good with a crackling skin though some parts of the crispy skin may be a bit harder than expected.  My husband actually preferred the siu yuk to the char siew.

We also ordered the Fried Dumplings @ RM9.60 (for 6 pcs) which seemed pricey at RM1.60 a piece. Thankfully, the filling of minced pork, carrot and crunchy wood ear fungus was plump and generous.  They were decent with a crisp and a not too thick skin.....and came freshly fried and really, really piping hot (so be warned if you don't want to burn your tongue).

My Personal Opinion

You shouldn't leave the shop without trying the char siew which was indeed super tender (if you get the right cut) and well caramelised for a smoky flavour.  Though the 4 - 6 pcs of char siew they give may not look like much but these were thicker cuts than usual.

It's a decent place not only for char siew with your wantan mee.....but also for roasted pork and poached chicken though I noticed that the place doesn't seem as packed (both times when we were there on a Sunday). I think this is probably due to the fact that the shop looks rather drabby and old but the wantan mee here is decent enough...and certainly at portions larger (and more value) than those in Chan Meng Kee.

Restoran Char Siew Zhai Wantan Mee
No 5 Jalan 20/13
Paramount Garden
46300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 012-628 1348

Revisit: Millenium Eighty-Six @ Paramount Garden

Remembering the sweet old lady's awesome yam cake in Restoran Millenium Eighty-Six @ Paramount Garden brought me back here one Sunday morning.

The previous times I was here, I had the opportunity to try the fish head noodles, steamed fish with rice wine and fried pan mee from a stall located towards the back of the restaurant.  They were all good.

This time I decided to try their sang har meen (freshwater prawn noodles) but, knowing how expensive this dish can be, I did the smart thing and enquired about the price first.  Sang har meen these days can go for anything from RM70 - RM100 for a 2-pax portion.  I was pleasantly surprised when I found out the price and so I ordered the Sang Har Meen @ RM20 for a 1-pax portion.

Looking at the price they charged, I knew that I shouldn't be expecting a huge freshwater prawn and what came was a medium-sized one.  Even though this was a one person portion, it's still substantial enough for sharing (which I did with my mother-in-law).

Since it was only a medium-sized prawn, there was only a bit of roe in the prawn head but not quite enough to coat the noodles as those I've eaten in the past.  However, the noodles still tasted alright due to the distinct flavour of rice wine in the yee mee (a type of egg noodle that has been deep fried).

Besides this noodle stall, my other favourite is the Penang Lor Bak stall manned by a nice old lady.

I had to have the old lady's Yam Cake @ RM3 (for 2 pcs) again when I realised how awesome it was when I "tapau" (packed) it the last time.  You'll know (at once) that this is a kick-ass yam cake just from the colour...full of yam flavour and topped with bits of fragrant dried prawns, fried shallots, chopped spring onions and fresh chillies. 

This is still the best yam cake I've had so far (and my spouse, who was having it for the first time, thought so too).  He liked it so much that we returned (two weeks later) and had it again.  When you order, she'll proudly tell you that this is the third (or fourth) tray that she has sold today...that's how proud she is of her yam cake (and her chilli dip too)!

And what was even better than the yam cake was her own-made chilli dip that's absolutely fresh and tangy in flavour...definitely one of my favourite chilli dips of all time.  The last time I wrote about this chilli dip, I mentioned that there could be some orange juice in the mix because of its citrus flavour.  So, out of curiosity, I asked the old lady (she's 82 by the way) if she added any orange juice into her chilli mix....and she said no, only the juice of the just-ripe calamansi limes and a bit of the zest.  Well, that's one helluva good chilli dip, I tell ya! ;D

This time I also spotted some glutinous rice at her stall.  I ordered one portion of Glutinous Rice @ RM2 filled with dried prawns, mushrooms, peanuts and fried shallots. 

This version is not as sticky as some I've had before.  It had nicely separated grains but still soft enough...very satisfying indeed.  We ordered this again the next time we were here.

Next, we also ordered some Penang Lor Bak @ RM6 from the same nice old lady.  I think I chose about 7 pieces...1 lor bak (marinated minced pork roll), 1 bean curd type roll, 1 fried spring roll, 2 pandan chicken, 1 fried tofu and.....

.......1 fried bean curd sheet....and all this for just RM6 (amazing)!

This plate of lor bak (on another day) was RM10.....

....and served with the eggy sauce and the same stunning chilli dip.

I also noticed a big, rounded lor bak item and was told that it resembles a mooncake but it's actually salted egg wrapped in yam @ RM3/pc.  Curious, we ordered it and it came cut into pieces and really did look like a mooncake.  We liked this a lot.

This round, we also got to try the Penang Otak-Otak @ RM5 and this had a mixture of eggs, fish chunks, coconut milk and a whole lot of spices and herbs with a strong hint of lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves.

This version is not those thin rectangular ones you'd find grilled over an open fire (which I'm more accustomed to) but a Penang-style version which is more like a spicy fish custard parcel and steamed instead.  It was really, really good!

There was also a stalling selling all kinds of porridge and when I saw that they offered Frog Porridge @ RM8, I couldn't resist ordering one.  It came in a claypot and there was quite a lot of porridge.

But it had very few, teeny-weeny pieces of frog....it was cut so tiny (the frog must have been really tiny), I couldn't even make out the parts of the frog.  I scooped out all of it into just this one bowl of porridge (which I consumed) and left probably another two bowls of porridge in the claypot coz it was practically tasteless with so little frog.  I guess I shouldn't have expected to see fat and juicy frog legs looking at the price.

#Side Story
The sweet old lady manning the Penang Lor Bak stall is quite chatty when you engage her in conversation.  She'd even tell you about her history and her family.  It's rather sad to see her still working at this age but she wouldn't have it any other way.  She said she did retire some years back but found it difficult idling her time away and reopened her stall at the urging of her customers.

If you happen to patronise her stall, you can always help her out a bit by serving yourselves (as in carrying your food to your table) as she's hard of walking (but still able to run morning and lunch service, leaves around 3+pm and returns again for dinner service as what she told me and I certainly take my hat off to her...for her hard work and dedication).  I secretly snapped a photo of her when she wasn't looking...hehe!

My Personal Opinion

Two stalls you shouldn't miss while you're here is the Penang Lor Bak stall manned by the sweet old lady and the noodles stall at the back.

There could be other good eats at the other stalls but I couldn't be bothered really coz, each time I'm here, I just head straight for these two! :D  And now that we've found this great yam cake, we'll certainly be back more often as the old lady isn't getting any younger.  And you should too...before the chance slips by!

Restoran Millenium Eighty-Six

13 Jalan 20/22

Paramount Garden

46300 Petaling Jaya

Selangor